The present invention relates generally to mops, and more particularly to method of forming a one-piece mop swab from at least one continuous, generally planar sheet of absorbent material having a plurality of bounded openings formed therein, the bounded openings arranged discontinuously in at least first and second directions to define an absorbent surface characterized by a network of seamlessly interconnected absorbent regions of the sheet.
Mops and mop swabs are well known and have been the subject of numerous improvements over the years. Conventional mop swabs for mops of all varieties have for years been comprised of numerous individual swab elements of a suitably absorbent material, such as yarn, chamois, etc., these individual elements of material being bundled at least at one end and connected to the mop handle to define the desired mop swab shape. The mops disclosed by Yates et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,338, showing a wet mop the swab of which is characterized by a plurality of fibrous strands freely depending from the end of a mop handle, and Monahan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,290, showing a self-wringing type mop wherein the strips of material are joined both to an end of a mop handle and a tubular sleeve disposed on the mop handle, are exemplary. Unfortunately, the numerous individual swab elements of the foregoing types of mops are prone to becoming bunched and entangled during mopping and wringing. This yields a mop with an undesirably untidy appearance, and the functionality of which is compromised.
One solution to the foregoing problem has been to interconnect adjacent pairs of individual yarn swab elements about the circumference of the mop swab with ties or other means, such that the swab elements will not tend to become bunched or entangled. The disclosures of Bakemeier, U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,101, and Jumonville, U.S. Pat. No. 1,936,433, are exemplary. Unfortunately, the yarn mops of the Bakemeier and Jumonville patents, while more beneficial than the prior art mop swabs more simply comprising individual, independent mop swab elements, are nevertheless not as economical to manufacture.
It is known to manufacture mop swabs from chamois material. According to one common chamois mop swab configuration, a plurality of generally parallel slits are made in a first direction in a sheet of selected chamois material, the slits defining a plurality of independent, longitudinally continuous swab elements. It is known to make the slits of shorter length than the length of the chamois sheet, such that the swab elements defined therein are secured at their upper and lower ends to a circumferentially continuous marginal edge. This configuration eliminates the need to have to gather the individual swab elements at their ends as is necessary for other prior art mop swab types, particularly those made from individual strands of yarn and the like. However, this prior art type mop swab is still characterized by longitudinal swab elements that are independent of each other along their principal lengths, and which consequently are prone to becoming intertwined during mop use.
Notwithstanding the various improvements in the prior art, there continues to exist the need for a simple and efficient mop swab which can be economically manufactured and which will avoid the problems associated with prior art mop swabs.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with the prior art, and encompasses other features and advantages, by providing a one-piece mop swab comprising at least one continuous, generally planar sheet of a suitably absorbent material, the material sheet having a plurality of bounded openings therein, the bounded openings arranged discontinuously in at least first and second directions to define an absorbent surface characterized by a network of seamlessly interconnected absorbent regions of the material sheet, so that the mop swab is characterized by the absence of disconnected, independent swab elements capable of becoming bunched and intertwined as is commonplace with numerous prior art mops.
The method of forming the one-piece mop swab of the present invention comprises the following steps:
providing at least one continuous sheet of absorbent material having lateral edges;
forming a plurality of bounded openings in the at least one sheet of absorbent material, the bounded openings arranged discontinuously in at least first and second directions to define an absorbent surface characterized by a network of seamlessly interconnected absorbent regions of the material sheet; and
joining opposing lateral edges of the at least one sheet of absorbent material to define a continuous surface having vertically spaced-apart first and second open ends.
According to one embodiment of this inventive method, the step of forming a plurality of bounded openings in the sheet of absorbent material comprises forming a plurality of generally rhombic bounded openings to define an absorbent surface characterized by a plurality oppositely diagonally oriented absorbent regions seamlessly interconnected in a reticular pattern.
According to another embodiment of this method, the step of forming a plurality of bounded openings in the sheet of absorbent material comprises forming a plurality of slits arranged in approximately parallel rows of discrete slits, and the absorbent surface defined thereby is characterized by approximately parallel continuous rows of absorbent regions oriented in a first direction, the continuous rows of absorbent regions being intermittently seamlessly interconnected to each other.